Comms Dealer

8x8's partner business programme has been extended to offer marketing support with PR and fast track funding.

The enhanced programme now gives the channel access to funding, marketing collateral, support and resources and has three different tiers - Accredited, Gold and Platinum.

The programme builds on the existing 8x8 Academy, a two day accreditation course on 8x8's portfolio of products.

Over 85% of 8x8's UK sales are via the channel and the updated programme was launched with Newbury-based Platinum partner du Pré.

The tiered scheme offers structured PR support to Platinum partners helping them to increase their profile in trade and business media through the development of a PR strategy, advice and content from an 8x8 retained PR agency.

The Platinum programme also offers an annual Joint Marketing fund whereby 8x8 matches investment by partners so both reap the most benefit from it, as well as quarterly Marketing Development funds.

8x8's channel partners at Accredited and Gold level will also receive fast track funds to accelerate growth and reach the next level of the programme.

Charles Aylwin Director of Channel and Public Sector at 8x8, said: "We want to continue our own rapid expansion and the only way to do that is with our partners. This is why we've introduced one of the most innovative partner business programmes."

IDC expects a 'challenging transition' as a result of Brexit, with the UK IT spending forecast likely to be revised downwards by more than 2% on a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) basis through to 2020, but with overall European IT spending remaining largely unaffected in this period.

"The often dramatic experiences in the past decade have enabled leaders across the globe to establish risk processes and act in a more measured fashion.

"Based on recent feedback from a number of large enterprise leadership teams, we expect a 'wait and see' approach as the political and economic lines are redrawn," said Thomas Meyer, Group Vice President Research at IDC Europe.

"IT spending will likely shift, but the strategic transition towards the digital enterprise will remain, and is likely to accelerate with a greater focus on cost optimisation and IT value to the organisation's bottom line."

Data centre operator Next Generation Data (NGD) has announced the appointment of Simon Bearne as Commercial Director.

Previous roles include senior sales and marketing positions at companies such as Mars, Cable&Wireless, Colt and most recently Claranet.
 
Bearne's new remit is to spearhead NGD's strategy for securing further contracts from major enterprise and service provider organisations as well as developing initiatives for enhancing overall customer engagement.  
 
"I am looking forward to leveraging my experience of the managed services industry which will complement the existing talents of the NGD team."

Nick Razey, CEO, added: "Simon will play a pivotal role as NGD continues to maximise its growth potential from an increasing number of large domestic and global tender opportunities."

We used to think that people don't like change, but clearly they do. While the ramifications of leaving the EU will take years to become apparent, the impact on business and jobs is the most immediate concern today, writes Clive Jefferys of recruiter JMA Network.

We can expect a wholesale change in employment trends across the UK during the next ten years, but right now, telecoms resellers and dealers are in a strong position to take advantage of what is to come.

An awful lot has changed since 2008 and the rise of network services sales has moved the greater part of revenues to a consumption-based sales model.

With the advent of hosted telephony solutions with built-in call plans, reseller incomes should remain the same or actually rise, particularly with regard to international calling. Capital purchases of hardware will take a short-term dip, but this was already an ongoing trend in the move towards telecoms as a service. No surprises there then.

The key question for employer and job seeker alike is how recruitment will be affected over the next year? Headlines may warn of general job losses to come, but in telecoms I'm not convinced. The latest IoD survey says that a quarter of employers are putting hiring on hold, a third will continue recruiting and the rest will stay the same. I can't think of a time that a survey said anything different. The reasons may change, but the outcome is the same.

The telecoms and IT sectors have spent the last five years coping with skills shortages and the lead time on filling roles had stretched out to six months in most cases. So it's going to have to be 'business as usual' as companies are already looking to reshape themselves for 2017.

Conversely, putting a break on new hires today will prove dangerous, locking you out of recruiting new potential for a very long time.

The most important facet of hiring has, is, and will always be to build your company's sales potential.

Maximising your strength to win new revenues has never been more urgent.

Channel friends of the Fidelity Group set off for a fun day at the Henley Regatta on June 30th after an early morning Mad Hatter's tea party at the company's HQ. Pictured is MD Alan Shraga with guests suitably attired for a day in Wonderland!

Alex Proud, founder of London's Proud venues, and Venus Business Communications presented the benefits of being a 'Gigabit Business' at a 'super-connected' event during London Tech Week.

The event showcased how Proud Camden, which is connected via Venus' London fibre network, has transformed into a Gigabit business, realising significant savings through resource efficiencies.

These include reduced computing costs, more reliable connectivity for faster transactions, and the ability to stream HD CCTV direct to police for safety.

Proud Camden is also protected against costly and lengthy broadband downtime, which would have a dramatic impact on customer payments for example.

Brian Iddon CEO at Venus said: "This event raised awareness of the opportunities for resellers in economic centres such as London that need more reliable connectivity, faster data speeds and the need for quality infrastructure. Currently just two per cent of the UK has fibre to their premises."

Proud Camden has been connected to Venus' London fibre network for five years. Proud Galleries and Proud Camden founder, Alex Proud commented: "Upgrading to Gigabit connectivity throughout our Camden venue is one of the best business decisions I have made.

"Our venue is always full of tech savvy customers online 24/7 while enjoying drinks in our terrace bar, stables or cabaret room. The additional bandwidth has improved the day-to-day performance of our Internet based services such as WiFi and internal booking systems, through to cloud telephony."

Venus worked with its partner Correct Group to provide a one stop shop solution for Proud Camden. Nick Brennan, Technical Director said: "Correct Group manage the IT solutions for Proud helping to deliver real business benefits, from efficient business operation to an excellent customer experience. We need to be confident that our client's IT systems are supported by reliable ultra-fast connectivity, so we partner with Venus who have a strong track record and local support engineers.

"The consequences of interruptions or slow connections can be damaging to productivity and the bottom line. More businesses are turning to fibre to premises to take advantage of reliable ultra-fast connectivity. Proud Camden is leading the way in the London Club scene and we anticipate others will follow, generating significant business opportunities to better engage with their customers."

Over 50 ShoreTel channel partners plus 90 other delegates converged on The Leadenhall building in London (also known as the Cheese Grater) fopr ShoreTel's annual UK&I Partner Forum.

The event's overriding theme, 'Driving Differentiation in UC', provided a backdrop to ShoreTel's ramped up ambition to to recruit new cloud-ready partners.

Gary Gould, EMEA Marketing Director, said: "This event showcased ShoreTel's commitment to partnership and the channel, as well as its focus on innovation in UC, both in the cloud and in the contact centre.

"More importantly, partners and attendees were highly satisfied with the event and voted 98 per cent good to excellent in terms of experience, which means we're engaging well with partners and helping them to drive differentiation in UC."

Event speakers included Darren Pattie, UK&I Sales Director; Adrian Hipkiss, VP & MD EMEA, who discussed how ShoreTel's global strategy supports growth in EMEA, highlighting ShoreTel Connect.

Gould offered insights into how the ICT sector can differentiate in a digital environment; while Spencer Bradshaw, Head of Solution Architects, also revealed the latest insights into the ShoreTel UC portfolio.

Pattie closed the Partner Forum by awarding Response Data Communications a recognition award for Cloud Business Excellence 2016.

A prize draw took place for an Apple Watch which raised £530 from on-the-day partner donations for the Jack Raine Foundation - ShoreTel's EMEA Charity of the Year.

London-based Telecoms World has joined the Cycle to Work Scheme which encourages exercise and minimises carbon footprints.

The scheme is a HMRC approved employee benefit designed to give employees the opportunity to purchase new bicycles and equipment worth up to £1,000.

Neil Barrall, MD, said: "The majority of our staff live within a few miles of the office and generally commute by car or bus.

"As well as promoting exercise and reducing carbon footprints, this scheme also helps us to reduce congestion and parking issues in our local area.

"Not only will supplying employees with new bicycles and equipment benefit our staff, employees make tax and National Insurance savings as well as saving up to 50% on new bicycles and equipment.

"Our employees have already said how they feel more alert, more productive and more energetic when they arrive at the office which is really great news to hear.

"Anything that makes our staff fitter and feel more motivated is a real win for me, so I hope that encourages even more employers to introduce a Cycle to Work Scheme and get their workforce moving."

Robert Kitchen, Marketing Manager, added: "We've had a number of staff already join the scheme who love the fact they can now use their bike at the weekends and leave their car at home. The scheme offers some great health benefits as well as the opportunity to save a considerable amount of money."

Pictured: Emily Kangar, Provisioning Agent

Metronet (UK) has extended its services with the addition of Purple analytics.

Using Cisco Meraki Access Point software, Purple's analytics enables Metronet (UK) to provide customers with access to useful data enabling them to engage with customers seamlessly.

One of Metronet's (UK) main routes to market is via its landlord and agent property channel, giving customers access to high speed Internet connectivity and Wi-fi for their tenants in communal areas and connectivity for intelligent buildings and BMS.

Bill Williams, Sales Director UK & Africa at Purple, said: "We're able to provide analytics services across Metronet's retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, and its landlord and property channel, creating a seamless Wi-fi and analytics package."

Sabio collected a brace of awards at Verint's EMEA Partner Summit staged in Portugal, picking up the Partner of the Year and Support Partner of the Year 2016 gongs.

"Winning Verint's two major EMEA partner awards is a great accolade for Sabio, reflecting not only our business performance over the last 12 months but also the services wrap that Sabio is able to provide to support Verint's customer engagement optimisation solutions," said Craig Pumfrey, Head of Marketing at Sabio.

"Having worked with Verint's EMEA operation and its technology solutions for over 16 years now, Sabio operates as a trusted business partner. We look forward to building on our strong partnership, further investing in our Verint skills and capabilities, and continuing to provide our customers with an end-to-end resource for all their customer engagement optimisation requirements."

Pictured: Ken Hitchin (Director) and Daniel Stimpson (Head of WFO) from Sabio receive the 2016 Partner of the Year award from Nick Nonini, Managing Director EMEA at Verint.